UPDATE: Couture out at NMSU; regents to appoint interim president by mid-October

LAS CRUCES - New Mexico State University regents announced a mutual separation between the university and President Barbara Couture during their public meeting Monday on campus.

Citing personnel guidelines that prohibit public discussion, the five-member board of regents refused to disclose why Couture will be leaving NMSU after serving just less than three years as president.

"We will not discuss the reasons behind this decision," said regent chairman Mike Cheney, who added the regents will select an interim president by their Oct. 15 public meeting, with immediate plans to begin a search process to hire a permanent replacement.

Wendy K. Wilkins, executive vice president and provost, will carry out the president's administrative duties in the interim.

Before a packed audience of students, faculty members, elected officials and reporters at the Corbett Center Student Union auditorium, the regents unanimously accepted Couture's resignation, the terms of which were finalized just 10 minutes before the public meeting, Cheney said.

Before the public meeting, the regents had behind closed doors in executive session from 1 to 3 p.m., to discuss legal and personnel matters.

Under the terms of the separation, Couture will be on paid administrative leave until Dec. 31, until which she will be entitled to live in the president's residence. She will receive a lump sum payment of $453,092 no later than Jan. 15.

Couture, who officials said initiated an annual leave last Tuesday, will take a senior advisory position with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, which is based in Washington, D.C., according to university officials.

Couture did not attend today's hearing, but released a prepared statement praising the university.

"My experience here during the last three years has convinced me of the importance of affecting policy at the national level so that colleges and universities can do a better job of assisting students through scholarship and loan programs. This will be the focus of my work as senior adviser for APLU," Couture said.

"NMSU is a wonderful school; with improvements that we have made in faculty and staff wages and increased efficiency during tough times, I believe the university is well positioned to move forward under new leadership. I thank the Regents, my staff, the faculty and the State of New Mexico for the opportunity to serve," Couture added.

However, in the week leading up to today's announcement, a growing chorus of NMSU donors, alumni, students and legislators had expressed frustration with Couture for what they felt was her reluctance to listen to their input and cultivate relationships with the wider campus community.

Though some legislators criticized Couture for not meeting with them, state Sen. Mary Kay Papen said she worked well with Couture and was sad to see her leave.

"I'm just sorry we weren't able to have her here longer," Papen said.

There have been a series of other criticisms of the university and Couture in recent months, including an athletics program struggling to find a conference footing and a nursing program at Doña Ana Community College that was denied accreditation this summer.

Regent Javier Gonzales said the next NMSU president will need to "immediately address" those issues.

"Today marks a new day moving forward, and beginning the process of addressing the many challenges facing this university," said Gonzales, who added that the regents did not receive pressure from any university constituency to seek Couture's departure.

"We need a strong leader to address some of the challenges," said Cheney, who added that the regents are looking for a leader who is able to connect with donors, faculty members and stake holders in the community.

Meanwhile, the regents themselves have also come under fire for a perceived lack of transparency for meeting in executive session and not publicly explaining why Couture went on a leave of absence, which was abruptly announced last Tuesday evening.

Couture's leave was announced just days after the regents met behind closed doors for the second time in as many weeks to discuss "confidential personnel matters, and threatened or pending litigation."

Cheney and other regents maintained throughout today's public meeting, and during an ensuing press conference, that they had complied with the state's Open Meetings Act, and had properly balanced transparency concerns with the need to respect privacy rights in personnel discussions.

"Transparency is a core value of New Mexico State and we remain committed to it. The public without question has a right to know what agreements are made by their university and what actions are taken. But these are sensitive negotiations — people's livelihoods and reputations are at stake," Gonzales said.

Tim Ketelaar, the chairman of the NMSU Faculty Senate, defended the regents.

"We believe the board of regents has made the right decision, and they have done so in the right way," said Ketelaar, who disclosed that the Faculty Senate had requested late last week to attend today's closed-door meeting. The university's general counsel denied that request, which Ketelaar said he respected.

However, the regents did not help themselves with the criticisms over transparency in meeting behind closed doors for lunch today around 12:30 p.m., a half-hour before the executive session was scheduled to begin.

"The only way this is not illegal is if they were just talking about their children, kittens, puppies or sports; but it would defy the average person's imagination to believe that is the case," said New Mexico Foundation for Open Government Executive Director Gwyneth Doland.

NMSU General Counsel Bruce Kite, who was in the meeting room, said the regents did not discuss business while they were having lunch. He said the Open Meeting Act allows the board to get together for lunch.

Brian Fraga can be reached at (575) 541-5462; Follow him on Twitter @bfraga